It would appear that children prefer to make friends with those whose speech patterns, rather than skin colour, mimic their own, according to a new study reported on Discovery News. The issue of accent also extends into the world of language learning. Anecdotal evidence supports the observation that native speakers will always be more generous with their time in communicating with a non-native speaker with limited grammar and vocabulary where that person's accent is good. Showing that you appear to belong to the "group" almost seems more important than what you say or how you say it.